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Just this once

Coleman Barks has been my favorite poet recently. I have been a fan of Rumi's poetry through his translation work. Even though he claims that he did not work from Persian language directly, his translation captures the spirits of the poet authentically.

It is very evident that the heart matter is a universal thing. The spiritual people can recognize the great value in spirit regardless of cultural difference, language barrier, geographical boundary, and all the other seemingly superficial differences... The spirit transcends the named objects. It manifests as universal love.

He is also a great poet himself, too. I am deeply touched by his anti-Iraq war poem, "Just this once". Here is the link of the poem that he recites himself.

Here are a couple of interviews with him.

* Casual interview
* On Beauty of Language

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